Sergievka: the Leuchtenberg Palace
A wooded estate park on the cliff above the gulf. Today it is home to biologists.
Sergievka is one of the wildest and most picturesque parks on the coast. In the early 18th century the plot belonged to Peter's associate Alexander Rumyantsev, then to his son, Field Marshal Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. The name honours the grandson — Sergei Petrovich Rumyantsev. Later the dacha was owned by Kirill Naryshkin, who, according to a contemporary's memoirs, had 'a country house among wooden pavilions where summer guests stayed'. In 1838 Nicholas I bought the estate for 560,000 roubles, and for his daughter Maria and her husband, Duke of Leuchtenberg, the architect Stackenschneider built a palace on the cliff. Since Soviet times it has housed the Biological Institute of St Petersburg University, and the park itself is a nature monument and part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Walks in Peterhof / Day trips
🗿 Sergievka: the Stone Head and the palace above the cliff
A forest park west of the house: Sobstvennaya Dacha, the mysterious Stone Head in the ravine and the Leuchtenberg Palace with a view of the gulf.